Part of Each Other's World
by just-beginning
Summary: They found each other and adventured together, each stuck in their own domains of the world. Then comes the curse, and they both find themselves with feet firm on the ground. Some things are the same but others begin to change forever...together, they'll try to get used to it while they work on becoming something bigger than the pair of them. (Killian/Ariel)
1. Chapter 1

**Greetings! This is the first Once Upon a Time fic that I've posted...i started it over the hiatus between seasons because I was feeling pretty OUAT deprived haha.**

**So there's already definitely differences down the road when the story catches up to Neverland, but I'll try to add-in some of what we've learned from the show as if fits in the the story. I don't know if that will make it AU, really, because I'll try to follow the show (loosely)...**  
**Anyway, i just love Captain Hook (So fun and, let's be real, so hot!) and he needs a friend =] so...that's where my inspiration started and then it just kind of flew from there. Anyway, hope you enjoy. I have several chapters finished so hopefully I'll be able to update soon...**

* * *

Prelude  
_"They say I've gone mad, but they don't know what I know. Cuz when the sun goes down someone's talking back."_  
_-'Talking to the Moon' by Bruno Mars_**  
_**

"Father," a young boy stopped on the docks, causing the older man to come up short of the land.

"Yes," he sighed, short on patience after a long day of fishing.

"Someone's in the water..."

"Oh? What was it?" Samuel Jones ushered his son along once he glanced down and saw nothing- the animal had gone.

"Not _it_ father- _who!_ A girl," the boy tried to go back.

Samuel scoffed but did do a visual sweep of the water, but he didn't even see so much as a ripple out of place.

"Don't be silly- a reflection, it probably was."

"No," the boy insisted. "Was it a mermaid what I saw?"

His father laughed outright, causing his son to frown. He had heard of half-fish-half-humans and thought it would be quite a treat to see one.

"There are no mermaids in these waters anymore, my boy... and we are better for it," he added.

"Why?"

"They are twisted creatures. They are a different race, and most have no respect for us. Long ago, men and woman of the seashore admired their beauty and wondered at them...before we knew their malice- they have drown sailors or, in less serious cases, been known to cut fishing nets. More trouble than their beauty is worth," Samuel spat. "They keep to their homes in the muck of the deep seas because they learned their lesson coming places like this..."

The boy considered this. He still thought he'd seen someone, but perhaps his father was right and it was only a reflection...he looked back at the boats for someone with red hair but saw no one.

He tried to put it from his mind, as the issue didn't please his father. He hadn't known the issues mermaids brought to harbor towns. He'd heard tell of them only from sailors who traveled long and far...perhaps mermaids in other waters were different and let passersby alone.

Sighing, he supposed he wouldn't be finding out anytime soon.

* * *

"Going to get the boat ready this morning, son?" Samuel asked, clapping his boy on the shoulder as he was already awake and eating breakfast.

"Yes, father," he smiled and hopped up.

He pulled a hat over his dark hair and ran out of the house.

"You're quite sure he ought to be working at the docks alone?"

"Aye," Samuel smiled while Helena, his wife, watched their boy through the front window. "He's a smart boy and the fishermen know him..."

He was confident in what he'd taught his boy. Besides, if he got some of the work done, Samuel would have time with Helena...alone...

He wrapped her in his arms from behind and felt, more than heard, her sigh and relax into him.

...

"Boy..." there was a soft whisper but the boy was too busy working to hardly notice.

"...it's off to work we go, hi-ho, hi-ho..." he half muttered, half sang.

He knew it was one of many work ditties chanted by dwarves. He'd never heard a dwarf sing, but he had seen one once...

"Boy!..hello!"

Startled a bit, then, he jumped and looked about.

"Here"

He looked down between the boat and the dock and saw a little face in the water. Coppery hair surrounded it, swaying in the water. The girl blinked and raised her head from the water more. It was a rather small head...she was young- he guessed maybe his own age!

"What're you doing down there?" he laughed.

"I'm stuck," she pouted.

He frowned but then watched her shift her weight to lean back. Instead of feet, a flipper rose from the sea!

"You are a mermaid!" he shouted.

The girl let go a small squeal and disappeared under the water.

"No! No! I'm sorry- come back! Come ba- hello," he smiled.

"I'm scared...some fishermen don't like us," she told him when she resurfaced.

"I know- my dad told me," he nodded. "So what happened?"

"I got caught in your riggings a ways back...I shouldn't have been where I was," she mumbled. "Now I'm stuck! It's knotted and waterlogged, so I can't get it off," she whined. "It hurts- it's too tight, and I can't grow nails yet to cut it..."

"Hmm...what's your name, mermaid?" he asked.

Her predicament was clear to him, now, but he didn't know what to do about it.

"Ariel," she sighed. "And yours?" she asked, lacing some command into her tone.

"Killian," he answered. "Killian Jones."

He drummed his fingers on the side of his father's boat. If she couldn't get herself undone by now, he doubted he'd get the thick ropes undone...plus, he wasn't convinced he wanted to get in the water with a merperson- what if his father was right?

But... but she was just a _girl._ It was no danger.

"What would you like me to do for you?"

"Have you a knife?"

He wondered over giving the creature a weapon, but only for a moment- again, she was just a girl. He wasn't afraid of little town girls his age; he wouldn't be frightened of her, either.

"Certainly."

He disappeared momentarily and returned to lean over the side and hand her a short blade. A pleased smiled split her little face and she began hacking at the rope around her.

"You're not the only mermaid left, are you?"

"What?" her giggle tinkled up to him from the water. "Of course not- you're very funny," she beamed.

"Then why didn't anyone help you?"

"Oh," she frowned. "No one was with me...I didn't mean to come here at all, not to this part of the realm anyway. I'm still figuring out distance traveling alone," she admitted.

"You've traveled the realm? How far?"

"Quite far... This realm, that realm," she shrugged, sticking her tongue between her teeth in concentration as she sawed a bit more and then tore herself free. "Here."

She reached the knife back to him. He took it back with little to no thought- he was preoccupied.

"Other realms? You've been to others?!"

"Oh sure," she shrugged and floated on her back in an effort to relax after a tense night.

"Where? -wait, how?" he asked excitedly.

"Well, all the realms have bodies of water, boy," she smiled. "Everyone needs water."

"You can travel under the ocean to any realm you wish?"

"Some are hard to get to and a few are blocked- no one's sure why because once they were all open," she told him lazily. "Have you not been to other lands?" she frowned in realization.

"No, I wish," he sighed longingly.

"Really?" she twisted back up in surprise so that her head and shoulders were above the water now.

"Yes, but someday I will," he told her firmly.

"Good, it's quite fun... even oceans differ in each world...sea animals and things. I imagine it's quite the same further on land where I can't see."

"Wow," Killian breathed. "And you can just go whenever you please? Does it take long?"

"Not really," Ariel considered. "It just takes experiences and some concentration, and a little magic to..."

"You're magic! Ugh, oh wow..." he repeated again.

"A bit...we aren't witches with spells or nothing," she defended.

"Sorry"

"Anyway, it's more about knowing what way to go... It was always quick with my uncles and even my oldest sister's good at it now... I'll figure it out, too..."

"So there really are lots more of you?"

"Duh, that's what I said," she smiled and laid her head back again.

Killian considered everything and studied her. The fish half of her was a teal color and some dark purple fabric was made into a sleeveless shirt, wrapped from her armpits to down just past where he supposed her hips might be if she were a human girl.

"What's on your head, Killian?" she asked and tried out his name for the first time.

He frowned and patted his head.

"..what do you mean?"

"It's on your hair- you're touching it," she laughed.

"This is a hat," he grinned.

"Why?"

"...it's clothes. It keeps my hair from the wind."

"Hmm, it would fall off under water probably," she mused.

"You've never met a human with a hat? Maybe they're abnormal in some lands..."

"I've only met one human," she admitted. "My uncle says I should wait until I'm older... I'll be faster incase I have to get away."

"I thought seasoned trade sailors got on with mermaids in the deep seas."

"Usually, but you never know- that's what my dad always says," she screwed up her face. "I can't wait until I can talk to all the sailors I want... learn about hats and things," she prattled on.

Killian laughed.

'_Hats and things? Girls were true oddities.'_

"Well I can't wait to travel the worlds and see everything...what's your favorite place you've been?" he asked, leaning over the rail excitedly.

"...Neverland, I think," she smiled. "There's several mermaids there and they are my age- they'll always be young."

"Always?" Killian frowned.

"In Neverland, time is an illusion- nobody gets older."

"Gee..."

"It's all a lot of boys there- they play many games."

Killian let himself feel jealous of her for a bit.

"Well, I hope you have your adventures soon- maybe we'll meet again! Because I think I should probably go- fishermen are coming..."

"Oh, right," he sighed. "I hope I do see you on one of my adventures, Ariel," he grinned.

"That would be fun," she straightened up and beamed. "...can I have it? Your hat, I mean- you don't seem fussed about it."

"My hat," he laughed. "I thought you said it'd come off under water."

"So? I want it...something from a human," she emphasized.

"Ah, well...alright," shrugged and dropped it to her.

"Here"

She reached into a fold of her top where she'd knotted a portion of fabric. From it she revelaed a yellow piece of...

"Coral...from a lagoon in Neverland," she held it up and tossed it up to him.

He caught it deftly.

"Thanks," he breathed.

It was so much cooler than a silly old stocking hat his mother had patched for him more than once.

"You're welcome"

"Good luck finding your way back"

"Thank you...happy adventures, Killian Jones," she smiled and began to swim away.

"...see you soon," he promised and committed her to memory- her fire hair, her clear green eyes, and her freckles.

Ariel...he'd remember.

"Hope so"

She waved her hand and flipped forward; a small splash from her tail was her final good-bye.

A real mermaid! A real one! He'd love to see more...he'd love to see everything! He would discover his own way to travel the worlds and see as much as she'd seen. Maybe more...

He twisted the coral in his fingers and slipped it into one of his pockets. His father wouldn't approve. He wouldn't tell him...


	2. Hide and Seek

Hide and Seek_  
__"I've been hanging around this place, I've been looking through your space; I been waiting for you. All the places that you know, all the places that you know; I've been looking for you."  
__-'El Cerrito Place,' by Charlie_ Robison  
_

Granny's diner was winding down, as it was a weekday and it was beginning to get late.

"Arianna, another drink?" Ruby offered from the working side of the counter.

"No, I should go," the redhead sighed and finished what was already in front of her.

After her glass was emptied, she set down money and got up. Ruby bid her farewell and she waved to a few others on her way out.

Now that the curse was well and truly broken, she was slowly making friends. Actual friends, not acquaintances she only knew from curse memories. She was, unfortunately, on the outside of some things- preexisting bonds that had existed in the lands of the Enchanted Forest before the Queen's curse. As a mermaid, she'd traveled much and, moreover, hadn't gotten to know a lot of land walkers on a personal basis.

She had heard of many of the residents- popular news passed over and under water just as it did on land- but often little more. Luckily, most here were welcoming and sympathetic since they were all in the midst of the same plight.

She strolled the sidewalk lazily towards home. She lived over a repair shop in a tight but cozy apartment. Though it was often bustling and moderately loud throughout the day, it was nice that the place kept regular hours. It mattered little, anyway, for the shop was near the harbor- she welcomed the smell of the salty air...it was comforting to her; even her cursed self had, inexplicably, liked this feature.

It was not unusual for people to be around the harbor even in the evening. Dockworkers, kids, boat owners...various entities. Regardless, there was a small glint of light that caught her eye and she glanced down the vessel-less dock. T he shape of the figure caused her a double-take for reasons she didn't immediately understand. Then she fully registered that the white flash had been the moon reflected on curved metal...

A sight she had seen before, though it had been some time.

She approached the dock, heart hamering. Not from fear...excitement. She was quite pleased. She descended past the boathouse to the lower dock and stopped short of the wooden planks incase they'd creak.

She did _so_ like getting the drop on him when he thought he was secluded.

"Killian Jones," she declared boldly to the man sat on ship supplies at the end of one of the docks.

She saw his head jerk quickly, but he stopped the movement before standing and fully twisting more slowly. He was trying to hide with a pretense of casualness, but she had surprised him.

"To what do I owe the pleasure...mermaid."

She smiled. The tone and the unseen smirk. It was oh-so-him...

"I'm glad you remember," she teased and tread across the wooden dock now.

"And how would I forget you, Ariel?"

Still casual. It felt like forever and only mere minutes, as it always had.

"You do look a bit different, though, I must say," he drawled now that she'd drawn near.

"A bit?" she laughed outright.

"Indeed...do a turn for us, love," he prompted.

He reached for her hand and raised it to help her twirl around for him.

"Very nice," he was grinning when she came back to a stop.

"Feet aren't so bad"

"And you have toes," he smirked.

They chuckled together at that for a moment.

Then a few seconds passed in quiet. Their usual, casual greeting was done and the next part was wide open. Ought they hug after so much time? P erhaps, but it had simply never been their way- never before had they stood in front of each other like this.

"Where've you been?" Ariel broke the silence. "And why do you still have your old clothes?" she added.

"Oh, I just got here this morning."

Now he was the one to have surprised her and her eyebrows shot up to prove it.

"Got here? ...how?"

"How long have you known me?" he rolled his eyes. "How do ya think?" he leaned over the edge of the dock to pat something that sounded solid but that she couldn't see.

"...The Jolly Roger," she nodded. "You've learned some tricks," she commented, starting at thin air.

"I have an interesting...friend."

"No doubt," Ariel nodded, asking with her eyes for more information.

"...long story"

"All we have is time," she reminded him.

"You've been frozen, too, then? This whole time?"

"Of course- do I look 28 years older?"

"No," he looked her up and down again. "As beautiful as ever... how did you end up caught in the curse? Awfully bad timing for you to happen to be in the Queen's realm..."

"And I hadn't even been there long...I was looking for you, actually. I was sure you were there," she sighed and lowered herself to sit on the edge of the dock as she recounted the tale.

Her legs were not so long that they reached the water, but she swung them happily nevertheless.

"I was indeed," the Pirate Captain told her, grunting as he lowered to sit with her. "A spell was used to protect an area...like I said, I made an interesting friend."

"Do they have a name?"

"...I'll tell you later, yes?"

"...when did we start lying each other?" the girl narrowed her eyes up at him.

"I am not telling a lie; there are simply more important things to discuss...like that The Crocodile is here," he scowled at the thought.

"Ah, the reason you're here- I should've guessed already," she nodded and extended her arms behind her to prop herself on.

"You do know me quite well," he smirked, glancing over at her. "...were you thinking I came for you?" he asked quietly.

The question caught her off guard, for she had not explicitly thought it. He had not scoured the town for her upon arriving, after all, so she hadn't been sure of that. Maybe she just hadn't thought it yet...because he **had** looked for her quite often...

She remembered the first time he'd sought her out. His methods had been crude, surely nothing he'd thought would yield results quickly...

_Word had reached her first via rumor, little more than mutterings._

_"Kina told me something strange," Varra, Ariel's sister, told her quietly._

_They were waiting on their other sister before heading to Oz- they heard munchkins now lived on one of the riversides and the girls wanted to meet them._

_"Oh?"_

_"A human asked for you"_

_"Don't be silly," Ariel answered quickly and with a laugh._

_She had met several, certainly, but she knew of none who had reason to look for her. The idea was silly, though (to her) also somehow thrilling, too. She would not tell her sister, however. Varra feared humans in a way that was generally uncommon these days._

_In the deep waters of most realms, merpeople had little to fear. They often traded with passing humans- sometimes in supplies, but most often in news and advise. Ariel did not think she had anything special in either arena._

_"They say he asks after you in oceans far off... just be careful," Varra insisted._

_"Varra," Ariel sighed, pausing her fingers, which were absentmindedly weaving tendrils of seaweed. "If he's far away, there's nothing to be careful of. And I do not fear humans, anyway."_

_"You are young and silly," Varra frowned._

_"I've seen no reason to be scared, so stop trying to talk me into it. It won't work," Ariel crossed her arms in front of herself._

_Though she was the youngest of her sisters, she spoke confidently to her sister this way. She loved Varra, but the girl was skittish to the extreme; Ariel had simply never been this way._

_"What's going on?"_

_Pearl, the eldest sister they'd been waiting on, had arrived, swimming down to them._

_"Nothing," Ariel uncrossed her arms and smiled._

_Pearl was fun-loving but haughty. She disliked humans, too, but for different reasons than Varra. Pearl did ascend to the surface where humans passed only because her vanity swelled when sailors admired her beauty._

_"Alright, then," Pearl nodded slowly, looking between the other sisters. "Then let's go!"_

_She shot off, bright blonde hair trailing long behind her. The other sisters caught up quietly. Ariel was pleased Varra said nothing about the supposed sailor, for she didn't want to hear Pearl's thoughts on the topic. Ariel's sisters had opinions of humans that were odd to her, indeed._

_Following that day, she continued to hear things about a human man...then found out that rumor told he was a pirate!_

_Ariel couldn't help to feel a bit of a buzz at that. Pirates, in general, were treated with caution even by their kind, for the group as a whole could not be trusted. Some, however, viewed merpeople as rightful inhabitants of the sea, and respect for the ocean kept them from troubling the sea creatures. Ariel's own father had known Long John Silver, who'd either passed away or traveled along so far that he'd not been seen by their kind in decades._

_"Ariel, do you know pirates and haven't told me?" Kina, long and blonde, demanded as she and Ariel scoured coral for certain plants._

_"No," Ariel laughed._

_She had yet to approach a ship with pirate flags. She did adore humans, but she also believed the stories they told of their pirate fellows and so proceeded there with educated caution._

_"Then who is this Killian Jones?!" Kina insisted._

_"Killian...Killian..."_

_Then a peal of laughter lifted from Ariel. Of course she knew that name! Of course._

_"I never heard he gave a name"_

_"Of course he did," Kina rolled her eyes. "My brother said he saw him just days ago...Drago ignores him, of course...where are you going! Ariel!"_

_Ariel would explain and apologize for the abrupt departure later. Kina was her friend- she'd understand._

_They hadn't been far from home, so she shot straight to her alcove along the drop-off. She dug around, jumbling aside various things until she found something soft and brown to dart away with._

_Up and up she swam..._

_Two days was time enough to travel away and, additionally, who knew where Drago had seen the ship. Still, travelers leave a trail. __Sometimes debris gave away signs of humans, but birds and fish nearer the surface were knowledgable about passersby, too._

_Finally, she spotted a keel ahead and swam for it. She avoided its wake, passed the rudder, and swam beside the moderately-sized vessel in the late morning sun._

_"Killian Jones!" she shouted._

_Men along the side looked round._

_"There!"_

_"A sea girl!"_

_A man pointed, drawing his neighbors attention._

_A couple smiled or waved, but she didn't go nearer et._

_"Do you know Killian Jones?" she called._

_"Oh, what do you want with **him,** sweetie?" someone laughed._

_The man next to him shook his head._

_"Aye, he's aboard...he hasn't gone and made any merchiefs angry, has he? From askin' too many questions?" asked an older man with long hair. "He don' mean no harm."_

_He'd hoped their new, but dedicated, young man's exuberance wouldn't ruffle feathers...or scales, as it were. He'd made relatively harmless inquiries so far as anyone knew, but if he was considered nosey (maybe a threat) or impertinent, merfolk could become a problem. Though they were safe upon their ship, merpeople could, should they wish, ruin business- pirates needed secrecy and mers could have the capacity to ruin that anonymity if they deemed it prudent._

_"No," Ariel laughed. "I just want to see him. May he come out?" she asked politely._

_A couple chortled, for the young sea girl sounded as though she were asking if a little friend could come to play._

_"Don't get your flippers in a twist, lass," someone muttered and shoved off the trail to find the young man._

_The captain at the helm had not spoken concerning the girl but watched on with mild curiosity. He'd seen many merfolk and the wonder had waned as much as he supposed it could. He heard one of the crewmen ask the girl how she'd found them and he rolled his eyes- some of the newer crew had much to learn. Merfolk could use almost everything in the sea as a resource. They knew many things._

_He watched the dark-haired Killian jog across the deck and lean over the rail._

_"Ariel," he waved and sounded quite pleased...maybe relieved._

_The girl tossed something to him that made him laugh, and then he laid across the deck to poke his head through one of the rail openings where water could run over the deck during rough seas. This way he could more easily speak to the girl. A couple men laughed and one kicked at his boots, but Killian paid no mind. T__he captain grinned. That boy would be a lifer and good at it, Killian would. Respect the sea and it paid you back in kind- the best sailors knew this to be true._

_"You still have this thing?" Killian snorted, holding his old brown hat in his hands._

_"Of course," Ariel laughed and swam closer._

_"...you are young," he realized once she came over._

_"And, what, you are old?" she chuckled, trying to find a handhold in the ship's side so she didn't have to paddle and keep up._

_"Older than you ...I thought we were the same age," he frowned, trying to work it out._

_"Time doesn't work the same in every world- has no one ever told you?" she smirked up at him._

_"...you've been in Neverland," he grinned._

_"Yes, on and off," she confirmed. "Plus, we age a bit differently..."_

_"I see...so you'll stay this beautiful a long time," he winked._

_"So you've been looking for me, then?" she smiled, unsure what to say to the flattery._

_"Of course...you told me about other worlds, and now I'm on my way to my own adventures. First one was finding the little sea girl grown up. Can you get between worlds alone now?" the late-teenager teased._

_"Certainly I can," she laughed and it was a nice, clear sound. "I recently went to Oz to visit the munchkins..."_

_"Oz?" Killian frowned, racking his memory._

_"Yes, they say an all-knowing wizard lives there now"_

_"So you met him?"_

_"No, he lives in Emerald City, away from water we travel through. We visited one of the munchkin towns. They're very nice. They're protected by a witch...they said there's an evil witch somewhere in The Land of Oz, but they haven't seen her in several years," she reported._

_"Wow..."_

_"Yeah, it was a fun place- I'd go back," she judged._

_"Were you there long? Explains why I couldn't find you," he considered._

_"I was there a little while. It's just that word of mouth is a bit...hit or miss, don't you think?"_

_"Well I don't know how widespread your lot are, so I just started wherever I could," he shrugged._

_"Word of you reached me before I even went to Oz with my sisters, but no one mentioned your name until today. I didn't have faith in any rumors about **pirates**" - she drawled the word- "until someone said it was little Killian Jones."_

_"Not so little anymore...and what's wrong with a pirate?"_

_"Well, you'll certainly find your adventures, but not everyone trusts a pirate's flag," she informed him._

_"Even mermaids?" he challenged._

_"Well, Blackbeard killed fair-headed mermaids to mount on the front of his ship- it's called the bow, right?"_

_"Aye, the bow," Killian chortled. "You're still quite strange, aren't you?"_

_"And you're still funny: asking random mermaids about one mermaid... ...as if the waters are that small."_

_"Funny, you say? Fair enough...how shall I find you in future?" he challenged._

_"...you'll want to see me again?"_

_"And why not? We need an adventure together, don't we?"_

_"At least one," Ariel beamed at the mere thought. "What kind of human adventure have you planned?"_

_"Well, I haven't exactly yet, but I'll know it when I see it," the teen told her confidently._

_"True enough...hold on..."_

_To Killian's surprise, she dove down out of sight. This was rather abrupt, but she'd made it to sound like she was returning, so he sat up to wait._

_He fingered the old hat he held, brown and soaked. He was surprised she had it, though he also still had her bit of coral from Neverland._

_Some time later, splashing alerted him to Ariel's return._

_"Have a nice swim?"_

_Ariel heard his sarcasm and so ignored him._

_"I brought you this," she said, and he noticed the medium, pink seashell he'd returned with._

_He was going to make a blithe comment about the mundane gift, but then he saw it glow in her small hand._

_"Magic," he murmured._

_"Mmhmm...we have calls we use sometimes to alert one another. I'll give this its own sound..."_

_He watched her bring it to her mouth and distantly heard a soft, wordless melody. The shell glowed a moment more before settling back to its pale pink._

_"Catch," she called and tossed it up._

_Caught by surprise, he had to jerk quickly to catch it in his hands. He twisted it and experimentally blew._

_"How does it work?"_

_"It did work," Ariel laughed._

_Killian blew again but heard nothing...nothing. Not even the movement of his breath through the shell. That was admittedly odd, so, yes, it must've done something._

_"Blow on it and I'll hear that shell's call and know you're looking."_

_"It doesn't need to be used underwater, then?"_

_"It would be louder, but no...as long as are in the same lands, I will hear it."_

_"Quite the trick..."_

_"Just a small enchantment"_

_"All the same, you give good gifts"_

_"You're welcome"_

_"Speaking on gifts...may I have this back?"_

_Ariel eyed his old brown hat. It was not a gift she actually used, but it had been her first trade with a human..._

_Perhaps Killian saw the reluctance._

_"I'd never take back a gift, only my mother made it. I've been without her for many years now..."_

_Ariel smiled sadly, divining assumed meaning from the unspecific statement._

_"Of course- it's yours to begin with."_

_"What would you like in return?" Killian smiled, tucking the hat away._

_"Do you have a watch?" she asked after a beat._

_"Of course"_

_"May I have that?" her eyes widened. "Or are they terribly rare?"_

_It was Killian's turn to laugh again._

_"They are not...but I don't know if one would work under water," he informed her._

_"Oh," he face fell in thought._

_"Would you still like to see one?"_

_"Oh, yes"_

_He laughed at her eagerness and fished out his pocket watch to stretch and dangle it to her. Ariel hoisted herself up to take it and study it, careful to keep it above water._

_"How does it work?" she asked, watching it move._

_"Cogs and wheels," he shrugged._

_"Hmmm..."_

_Killian was amused with her interest and, when she tossed it back, he found that he wished there was sense in her keeping it._

_"I think I ought to go...I left my friend abruptly when she told me who you were," Ariel told him._

_"Ah, off with you, then- I'll call to you," he held up the shell._

_"I hope so...safe travels until then."_

_"To you as well," he threw a small salute and stood._

_With a last wave she flipped backwards and swam down out of sight._

It was, of course, far from the last time they'd meet.

Ariel found him often, though not as often as he used his gifted shell to call her. They shared news often and traded-off items back and forth- she brought him things from lands he hadn't traveled (yet) and he picked up market trinkets for her.

And, of course, they went on adventures together. A couple times, when he could, he accompanied her to parts of lands she hadn't seen yet. More commonly, he asked her about certain lands or worlds he hadn't yet sailed. He'd become a captain relatively young and didn't want to appear inept to other crew, but with Ariel he could question, ask advise, and test theories...and, naturally, she was always invited along. For the most part, she always accepted these invites- she loved adventure and the idea of who she might meet Her kin did not understand (or wholly approve) of said adventures, but she was not deterred.

Some of his plans were not entirely to her taste, so she simply declined and there were no grudges held. She was an invaluable friend to him for several reasons; he wouldn't begrudge her for her moral compass.

A large portion of their friendship always involved a travelers version of hide-and-seek. He may sometimes be far away in uncertain locations difficult for Ariel to determine. Likewise, Ariel wasn't always in the same land as he, so it was impossible to know when the shell may prove useless.

Still, they'd always known each others favorite, default places. They knew the best ways to find each other, and they did find each other...

Always.

"Hey"

Ariel was sitting on her friend's left, so it was his hook that nudged her arm.

Right...did she think he'd come for her...

"No, I just hadn't thought of Mr. Gold- that's his name here," she prattled.

He already knew this, so he didn't comment.

"I didn't know you were here... if I had, I would've tried to find a way," he promised.

She smiled.

"Well, it wouldn't have made a difference- I wouldn't have remembered you," she informed him regretfully.

"I would have found a way," he dismissed her input with his cocky little comment.

Ariel smiled and stifled a yawn.

"Alright, shall I take you home?" he jumped to his feet and extended her a hand.

"So gallant," she laughed and accepted the help.

"Well," he grunted as he yanked her up. "Taking you home's never something I got to do before, was it?"

She laughed, for it was perfectly true.

The walk was quiet but not long.

"...this isn't some weird dream, right?" she asked when they reached her downstairs door.

"No," he laughed, darkened eyes crinkling. "Although, I'm sure you do dream of me," he winked and then just laughed more when she hit him.

"So I'll see you?"

"Of course," he promised. "I'd invite myself up, but I have to meet my friend...soon," he checked his pocket watch.

"Who I still don't know..."

"Very soon, love," he insisted and stooped to quickly kiss her cheek and then trot off.

She shook his head but had to smile. He was _so...him._

Finally seeing him again was still confusing, but a good surprise nonetheless.

The best.


	3. Allies

**Thanks for the reviews I've started to get, they definitely help me edit chapters a little more enthusiastically.  
Glad you've checked in for chapter 3- hope you enjoy =]**

* * *

Allies  
"_I don't want to fight about it now, with the whole world upside down. I don't have a soul to trust in now, with the whole world upside down."  
__-'We are One Tonight,' by Switchfoot  
__

In the two days that followed, Ariel (or Arianna, as some of the town still named her) was incredibly anxious...she felt antsy to the extreme. She looked to the docks when it was in sight, but there was still no visible sign of the Jolly Roger. Her captain was still huddled away, probably plotting revenge with his "new friend." Despite the title, she did not like the way he had said "friend"...it didn't bode well with her.

She also didn't like that he wasn't telling her...something. It wasn't that they normally told each other every single thing they ever did, but this...felt very much tantamount to a lie. Perhaps it was because they were finally reunited, and he wasn't answering one of the first things she asked of him. They did not lie to one another...him being a pirate, maybe she was the only person he hadn't made a habit of lying to...

He was the only person here that she'd known before, and he was hidden away. He was someone she had trusted- above nearly all others- and now he was here, but he wasn't...

"Ms. Callahan ...?"

"Yes, Thomas?" she broke from her musings to look down at the young boy in the pool at her feet.

"Can you tell my mom the lesson's not over? I don't want to leave..."

She glanced across the pool room. Sure enough, adults were filtering in to get their children from swimming lessons.

"We aren't supposed to lie to moms and dads," she reminded him with a playful smile.

"Oh yeah"

He dog-paddled himself to the ladder to climb out with his classmates and dry off.

Small talk with parents ensued as they discussed the progress of the children as well as gossip concerning news of the town. Much had happened and everyone was still trying to figure it out...

Once parents and children were gone, she picked up and padded to the small locker room to change out of her purple bathing suit and into street clothes.

Maybe she'd go to Granny's. If Ruby was getting off soon, perhaps they could go to The Rabbit Hole for stronger drinks.

Or ...or maybe she'd just go board The Jolly Roger herself. It was invisible, but she knew just where it was, so she could figure out how to get aboard...

What if his "friend" was no friend? Something could've happened and she'd just have to check...

"A swim teacher? How on-point..."

Ariel jumped in the dim rec center and froze with her hand still in her hair to comb-out damp tangles. She twisted on the spot only to find The Captain Hook seated on the short metal bleachers by the pool's edge.

"You," she headed his way, hand dropping from her hair.

"Who else, Ms. Callahan," he smirked.

This caused her to wonder where and how long he'd been lurking about, but she didn't bother asking.

"You're an idiot," she spat when she reached him and smacked the back of his head.

"Oi!"

"Where've you been?" she demanded, dropping heavily next to him.

"Not far...is everyone here that boring?" he chortled.

"Not boring, no, but I didn't know any of them before the curse. Well, I've seen Smee, but he's a little squirrelly about it..."

"Naturally... so none of your kin came along?"

"The curse didn't extend to where they were...it's just me..."

"And?" he raised an eyebrow.

"And...Arianna - that's my name here- was sad a lot not having family...it was her biggest worry," she recounted, remembering it through a thin fog. "But I don't mind quite as much...I miss them, but this would be harder on them."

Killian nodded. Ariel had a rough relationship with most of her family and other merfolk for her infatuation with humans- him, in particular. It was a mixed source of amusement and guilt to know he was a reason for strife in her family...but Ariel was independent; she'd always made her own decisions.

"It's better for you now then?"

"Aye, captain," she smiled, green eyes crinkling. "Everyone here's understanding and quite nice. Everybody's really come together since the curse broke."

"Good on you," Killian nodded as he stroked his hook and considered what it may have been like to have been frozen here for twenty-eight years rather than the Enchanted Forest.

"...so where were you? 'Not far' is not an answer."

"Is that worry I hear? Did I worry my little sea girl?" he drawled.

"Killian ," she sighed and gazed levelly at him.

"Alright," he grumbled- changing the subject rarely went past her unnoticed. "I was with Cora."

"Cora," the name rolled over her own tongue in disbelief. "She is your new friend?"

"Of sorts," he shrugged.

Ariel had, most certainly, heard of her. Sailors had spoke of her with equal feared awe they spoke of her daughter with. No one who'd raised The Evil Queen could be trusted; surely Killian knew as much.

"Blinded by revenge, yet again," she whispered.

Her dark companion scowled at how freely she spoke.

"Don't start again- you know that I must..."

"Of course I know"

Ariel understood why he desired Rumplestiltskin's end- he'd killed someone Killian had loved. A life for a life was a common creed. But Killian had taken some foolish, un-planned steps in the past, and, so far as Ariel was concerned, this must be another. Years had not dulled his drive...

"Then help me...like you once did," he implored.

"You never liked witches and dark magic. He is dark magic," Ariel insisted.

"Cora's goals and mine are parallel- we will help one another."

"Until it helps her to do otherwise?"

"Not everyone can be you, Ariel," he growled and stood in agitation. "I cannot just wait to find people like you whom I can trust completely...I make do with what I have. Don't think me stupid- I tread carefully!"

She nodded slowly and tugged him back to sit by his shirt sleeve.

"Cora..."

"I know"

"...Cora..."

He said nothing this time and just let her sit and try to process. Admittedly, this was not the first time one of his plans had sounded like something she didn't want to be involved with. But this...

He'd talked her into many things that turned out fine, but this...she didn't know if this was one of those things...

* * *

_"I found the compass!" Captain Jones announced, hoisting his friend to the deck rail._

_He'd lowered a rescue rope she could loop and sit in it like a swing to be pulled up to the ship. Some of the men didn't explicitly like it- superstition about women on ships and all that- but she never stayed or brought ill-tides so they voiced nothing_

_"Let's see it then!" Ariel laughed, sitting herself on the railing and pushing off the rope._

_"Ah," her friend sighed and dropped the makeshift hoist away. "By 'found' I mean I know where it is, not that I've got it in my hands just yet," he admitted._

_"Oh, well...do tell," she prompted._

_"What do you know of Medusa?" he asked, leaning his back against the rail next to her so he could face her closely._

_So he saw as her smile dropped._

_"Does she have it?" Ariel asked quietly._

_"Aye..." he nodded and crossed his arms. "I don't think she knows it...there are many things in her caves, they say."_

_"...do you know everything they say?"_

_She saw his set jaw and tensely crossed arms. He knew Medusa was dangerous and Ariel could tell he'd expected this reluctance and avoidance from her...perhaps he had hoped she didn't know much of the damned woman._

_"She is a snake-headed demon. So ghastly that any who look upon her face are transformed to stone..."_

_"And so you want to face her?"_

_"I'd like to **not** face her- that's the point," he joked._

_Ariel sighed. So cocky- a perfect pirate._

_"Hold on, how did the compass even get there?"_

_They'd searched for the compass together before, of course- it had been their first venture together after he became captain of his own ship. The compass was enchanted and showed the owners the way to whatever their heart desired. Gold, treasure...it could help a pirate immensely to have direct navigation to a hidden cache of goodies._

_When they'd originally sought it, he had known it to be in the possession of Captain Ahab; with the compass, he hunted a white whale. Killian had wondered what she knew of him, but she'd reported that most of her kind gave large fishing vessels a wide birth. With some prying she'd heard of a boat in Northern waters that asked any passing creature and seaman about sightings of a whale that was all white. Ariel had gone ahead to verify the news and had met this Ahab, but by the time The Jolly Roger arrived the crew had gotten wind of coming pirates and the Pequid had vanished. Killian hadn't been able to find him again, nor had Ariel heard reliable news of a white whale._

_"Hidden, but not by Ahab...he must have lost it to another. A Captain Sparrow is said to have left it there for safe keeping."_

_"Safe keeping," Ariel laughed. "It would stay safe, but how would he ever get to it again? How did he even hide it there?"_

_"They say he is more lucky than he is bright."_

_"And you're looking for the same reputation?" Ariel scoffed._

_"Ariel," he rolled his eyes. "You know where she's at?"_

_She would hedge that question for now._

_"...do you know how she became what she is?"_

_"...no," he drawled, knowing he was about to get an education._

_He supposed he'd have guessed Medusa had always been so, but he could see he was going to learn differently._

_"She was a human: fair and young. She lived by the sea; that's how a sea god found her. He wanted her, for she was beautiful to him, but she was frightened. He took her anyway and dragged her to a cave, and he forced himself on her. A sorcerous from that land found out and she was jealous- she wanted to be most desired among women. When the god left, the sorceress cursed Medusa, as though it were her fault, and damned her to stay in that cave with a form so unbearable that none could even so much as look at her," Ariel recounted the haunting tale quietly. "No one knows if her soul was always dark - evil- or if what happened and the forced isolation ever since has driven her mad... ..."_

_The Captain said nothing while he took this in, just turned where he stood to look out over the water with his friend. The waters of all lands and all worlds had dark stories- this was nothing new to him- but this bit of history was quite twisted._

_He often counted on Ariel's knowledge of the waters in which she dwelled. There was a respect amongst her people for how ancient their origins were; there was little oceanic history they did not know. It was useful, to be sure, but damnable in this instance as she tried to warn him off._

_"No one knows, Killian, because no one comes back to tell the tale," she finished._

_"Some do...some hide treasures there," he reminded her of this Sparrow fellow._

_"Fools...it is easier to drop something in her caves than to search for something," she dismissed with a flick of her hair. "Besides there are so many things in her cave because when people die there...their things simply become hers by default."_

_"You're being difficult," he accused._

_"...yes," she admitted. "You can't get there, Killian."_

_"But you can?"_

_"No, I won't go there," Ariel shook her head._

_"You are frightened," he sighed patiently._

_"And with good reason! To go somewhere so hopeless alone!" she shook her head. "Evil happened there...a lot of pain and no comfort- never redemption. It would be suffocating..."_

_Killian did not like the way she described it. Her perspective made him want for her to not go there._

_"Is there any way you know of for me to go?"_

_"I don't want you to go... and, no, the only entrance I know of is a water one. I don't know how humans get in...maybe there's a land entrance elsewhere..."_

_"Blast..." he tightened his hands on the wooden rail. "It is too deep then?"_

_"Yes," Ariel looked over to tell him._

_She thought of something but dismissed it and looked back to the water._

_"What was that?" Killian sighed._

_He was patient but knew what he'd seen in her face. An idea...before she'd killed it._

_Ariel huffed a breath. Her mind raced, but, ultimately, they didn't lie to one another._

_"Gillyweed"_

_"Come again"?_

_"Gillyweed is a salt water plant...normally it's just a weed. If it's grown next to certain other plants, it allows a human to breathe underwater when they eat it..."_

_"Brilliant!" Killian clapped his hands together. "You know where to get some?"_

_"I think so," Ariel picked at the wood under her._

_"Think? Or know?" he asked knowingly, calmly._

_"I know of some... There used to be more- Mers traded with it until humans took advantage. Plus, using too much makes you very sick."_

_"Then I'll use just enough...it will get me there?"_

_Ariel nodded._

_"Smile, love," Killian whispered, nudging her with his arm._

_"I'll get some...while I'm gone, will you think about it? What disturbing a place like that means? ...it's no good..."_

_"I understand your view of it," he nodded. "I'll think on it..."_

_"Are you only humoring me?_

_"No...based on what you say, it's not a place I want to go have tea. There is a wisdom in staying away..."_

_"But there's treasure..."_

_"Oh, aye," he nodded, sounding almost longing._

_"Well... if we're going, I at least want you to have the information and think it through," she sighed and lifted herself on her hands, swinging back and forth a bit to prep to propell herself into the ocean._

_His calloused hand snatched her wrist to stay her._

_"You'll come with?" his brow was raised._

_"Duh... ...you'd muck it up on your own..."_

_He beamed and gave her wrist a squeeze and then released her so she could dive forward._

* * *

That had all seemed foolish, too, but the Captain had long proven a knack for making just about everything work out. She'd come to accept it, to count on it even though it scared her sometimes.

Cora...

"I don't know what to think..."

"Then just think it over," he shrugged.

She didn't know how to take comfort in the idea of the use of that kind of magic to get results...

"I'm scared for you," she whispered.

"Do not be," he waved the thought away with his good hand.

She sighed and rested her head on his shoulder while she considered all of her feelings.

"Can I ask you something perfectly unrelated?" he questioned after a few moments.

"Please do," Ariel straightened properly.

"What's the smell in here? It's strong...and it's in your hair," he sounded distasteful.

She laughed and he enjoyed its familiairity.

"Chlorine"

"Hmm?"

"It's a chemical that cleans the water in the pool..."

"...I prefer the salt water smell. Come along."

He stood and she followed with her bag of clothes.

"And give me this," he sing-songed, slipping his book through the strap of her bag to sling it over his own shoulder.

He had a surprising many fits of chivalry- more than most would suspect, in any case.

"I think you've always scared me a little...you're always so fearless..." she sighed.

"So are you, given the right nudge," he grinned. "You have good instincts once you're on a roll."

"Twenty eight years ago," she agreed.

They were talking about the same topic of Cora and her nonsense without specifically addressing it. It was easy...an old habit.

"Oh, but has it really been twenty-eight years...has anything changed if you've just been frozen? It's not like you went and got old on me..."

"I suppose not...want to go for your first ride in a car?" she offered, stopping next to her white Jetta.

"...ah, you're strange carriages..." he frowned at the machine.

"Pretty much"

"...it does sound exciting," he cocked his head, "but I'm headed in the other direction... I'm meeting Cora at the clock tower," he divulged.

"Oh," she rolled those clear green eyes and threw her bag in her back seat. "...how did you even meet her? You haven't always known her, have you?"

"Course not... ...I met her right before the Curse- in Wonderland."

"Wonderland!" Ariel's eyes popped.

"Naturally you've heard of it," he both rolled his eyes and laughed- simultaneously annoyed and joyful at the routine.

"Yes, but I had never gone...it's one of those realms I told you about that has strange magic and many rules."

"So I learned"

"We mostly avoided it because...wait, was Cora the Queen of Hearts?" it suddenly occured to her.

"Aye"

"Ugh," Ariel took a few steps back, digging her hands in her hair.

The Pirate didn't like distressing his friend further but couldn't deny he had always sort of liked when he had news to shock her.

"I was sent there to kill her by her own daughter," he smirked wryly.

"Wh- she _beheaded_ people...that or ripped out hearts! Killian...ugh."

"Trust me, I know"

She froze and then grabbed him by the shirt collar to yank him forward. She placed her ear over his chest as fear gripped her own heart...

He deflated some from the fun of his shocking tale.

"It's there, love; I promise," he whispered, but otherwise stayed still to let her listen.

Relief washed over her when the slow but steady beat met her ears. She released the breath she'd held and relaxed a moment.

"If you wanted a hug, you know you only need to ask," he cajoled after a few moments and brought his arms around her.

She reciprocated, leaning into him a little more and squeezing him. Then she leaned away and shoved him hard in the chest.

"Idiot," she hissed, covering her mouth nervously while she processed his story. "You were working for Queen Regina!?" she pulled her hands from her mouth to ask.

"She left me no choice, I assure you. She caught me somewhere I shouldn't have been..."

"Typical," she grumbled, but she did smile.

"...are you very much over your panic now?" - he watched the ginger head nod- "Then I need to be going..."

"Don't disappear for days...I'll think she's done something awful to you and I don't want to have to hunt her down...because I will," she promised with a grin; she was perfectly aware she had no offense against a witch, but she'd find a way to try.

"I know you will, you wicked girl," he winked and dipped to kiss her cheek.

Grinning despite herself, Ariel took hold of his hook and gave the cool metal a brief kiss.

With that, she opened her car door to get in.

"Ariel..."

She paused to see his face screwed up in something like slight reluctance.

"What?"

"Can I count on...your discretion?"

She hadn't considered the need to keep this from the town. Still, he was her Killian Jones.

"Always"

"Good night to you, then"

Ariel nodded and finally did get in to leave.

Granny's and The Rabbit's Hole no longer sounded appealing. Ariel went home instead.

She'd heard so much that evening...it was a lot to process. The idea of putting faith in The Evil Queen (rumors of her hunt for her step-daughter Snow White were not lost even to the sea people) or her mother was absurd. But Killian had said he didn't trust her- not really, at least. He was being careful...

She'd put her faith in him as long as she could. He did have a track record of navigating and surviving tricky situations.

Medusa's caves had worked out, after all.

She had arrived, Gillyweed in tow, to find him waiting armed with mirrors-= a simple defense, but it had worked.

Ariel had been terrified. It had felt the way she'd said, but she couldn't leave Killian alone. The shallow waterways snaking the cave had been slimy with stagnation, but she'd stayed with her friend, eyes wisely averted and ears strained. Being caught trespassing by the ancient woman had been beyond horrific, but they'd stayed smart and escaped...compass held tight in Killian's hand. Medusa's curse left her unable to pursue them, and Ariel had shoved the leftover Gillyweed down Killian's throat so she could take him back to his ship.

Though there had been various valuables scattered about the caves, they never spoke of returning- never even thought it.

They had laughed, hadn't they? Full of joy and relief, they found amusement in their own cleverness once they were safe. They relived it together without the fear they'd felt at the actual time...all had been well.

Weren't all of their adventures that way? Delightful, in the end, _because_ of some foreboding factor at the edge of everything...

Cora was an ill-advisable factor, but didn't they look out for one another? Didn't they make things work?

Though still nervous, Ariel was comforted by these memories and was able to sleep that night.


	4. Worthwhile Friends

Worthwhile Friends  
_"I will be brave. I will not let anything take away what's standing in front of me."  
__- 'A Thousand Years,' by Christina Perri  
__

The next afternoon, there was a Welcome Home celebration for Emma and Mary-Margaret. Like about half of the town, Arianna Callahan was in attendance. She ate and drank and laughed along with the others.

Leroy was telling her about the mines they were working in Storybrooke. Given where she'd lived in their home world, she'd never seen one of the dwarven mines, though she'd heard of their work.

"As long as you're not afraid of dirt, come on and check it out," he shrugged her casual welcome.

"I might just do that, maybe sometime after cla-"

She trailed off once she processed what she was hearing behind her where she sat at the counter with the dwarf.

"-and I can't believe you met Captain Hook!" Henry said, half-wrapped around his mother's hip as he had been since her return.

"And fought him and won," Mary-Margaret encouraged her grandson's near hero-worship.

"That's so cool..."

"Leaving him up the beanstalk with the giant was smart, Emma- fast thinking," David congratulated. "It was safer, clearly, not to put trust in him.

"You met Hook?" Arianna couldn't help but interrupt.

"Yeah, did you know him?" Emma asked incredulously.

"She was a mermaid, Emma," Mary-Margaret reminded her.

"Right- I'm sure you've met many sailors," David nodded his understanding.

"Killian- Hook, he's my friend," the redhead stared blankly at Emma as she clarified. "And you left him up a beanstalk? With a giant?"

Ariel felt sick, never mind that she had seen him with her own eyes twenty-four hours ago. To hear that he could have been crushed by a giant before they reunited and she would have never known...the thought made her nauseous.

"He's okay," Mary-Margaret interjected quickly, as her daughter seemed a little too taken aback with the accusatory tone the redhead was taking. "We saw him again before we left."

"Yeah, and he tried to stop us," Emma added.

"Do you think that's because you left him to deal with a giant?" Ariel spat.

"He wasn't going to hurt anyone," Emma sighed.

"Right, because you know all about giants..."

"Alright, alright," David intervened calmly, as they were starting to attract attention.

"I'm sorry if he's your pal, but he's not exactly forthcoming or easy to trust," Emma defended herself; she decided to ignore that guilt had eaten at her when she'd done it and that, even know, she had some doubts about the choice.

"Stop pretending you know him ...he was one of my best friends and that you could play loose with his life that way...it's disgusting," Ariel shook her head and grabbed her coat from the back of her chair.

"Ari, come on...don't go"

"Sorry, Ruby- thanks for the invite," she smiled tightly and left while she shrugged on her dark jacket.

Once she was outside, she realized Archie had slipped out with her.

"I'm fine"

"Are you?"

"Sure, that was just a lot to hear...I feel a little numb..."

"I'm sure they wouldn't have lied about him being alright," he assured her.

"Oh, yeah...I believe her. It's just scary to hear that about a friend..."

"I'm sure...can I walk you home?"

"You don't need to," she squeezed his arm. "I'll walk it off- the cool air will help."

"Alright, good n-"

The door of the diner opened again and David exited. Ariel sighed.

"Arianna, are you alright?"

"I'm fine, thanks"

"...okay, because he's fine. He's working with Cora," he added pointedly, "but fine."

The statement was like a fresh slap in the face, though she'd already tried to process that whole fact.

"Right"

"Don't be mad at them...he's a pirate- I'm sure you can understand why they didn't put trust in him."

Ariel let out a dry, humorless laugh; shaking her head, she looked away from him.

"David, defending their actions by casting aspersions on the character of the man she was defending...now's not the time," Archie said quietly, ever-practiced at mediation.

"Thanks, Archie," Ariel offered him as much of a smile as she could.

"I'm sorry, I just-"

"You're defending people you love- I get that. I'll see you both tomorrow," Ariel interrupted and finished the conversation.

She strode off, hands in her jacket pockets. She was confident neither would follow- Archie would understand.

Tears stung her eyes as she walked and she wasn't sure what they were for. Maybe relief that Killian had survived a giant, maybe deep frustration she was once again forced to defend her favored friendship.

She knew he was difficult- of course she knew that. He was not always kind to everyone, yet he was still a good man; being Prince-freaking-Charming wasn't the only way to be good. Why did so many people not understand that? Why was she treated like she was crazy for seeing good in him, for knowing him as a friend?

She wished people could accept that she wasn't stupid and could decide what did and didn't make a worthwhile friend...

* * *

_"Your two-legged friend is calling you," her Uncle laughed._

_By now, they all knew what sound always drew Ariel away and to whom it beckoned her to. Sometimes she returned quickly; other times she was gone a long while. Her father had tried to forbid it, but that came to no good..._

_"It's not like that," Ariel repeated yet again._

_Kina, her childhood friend, was the only one who sincerely tried to understand. She didn't, not really, but she did try to be supportive- she asked about "her Pirate" and was morbidly fascinated with their ventures. Once she'd even gone with Ariel to look for Ahab in the waters of Narnia, but they'd found nothing._

_"Oh, isn't it? Does he come when you call?" her Uncle's deep voice jeered._

_"You know perfectly well he cannot come down- he is a human."_

_"And a pirate at that...any good pirate knows how to use what they have to get what benefits them- it's what they do, girl."_

_Ariel disliked both the insinuation that she was "used" or "had" by anyone._

_"You don't know him"_

_"Rightfully so! You shouldn't either,"_

_Ariel shook her head, for her relationship with Killian was nothing he understood. No one did- her sisters had never even cared to try._

_She knew it appeared one-sided, what with him having the shell to draw her up to the surface; it was simply the only way. But it wasn't so...she sought him out for news and things, he brought her things simply because he thought she'd be interested, and he did not always have questions or schemes. Sometimes he just wanted to talk or see how she was; they'd whiled away several mornings or afternoons just swapping stories and news..._

_"He's a good man"_

_"A pirate," her Uncle scoffed again, as though it were impossible to be both. "Go on- we won't bother trying to stop you...be his little pet. Pirates do like females best when they're less than clothed."_

_Ariel reeled back, but her Uncle made no acknowledgement that what he'd said was offensive. Stung, she quickly swam away._

_She planned to go to Killian, for there was currently no one in the other direction that she wanted to talk to. She slowed on her way, though, and lazily moved through the water. She'd already realized she was crying, but she tired not to think about her tears blending with the rest of the salt water..._

_She ignored it, coming to focus instead on the dolphins she came across. For a while, she swam amongst them. When they began to speed up- perhaps to shallow waters to corral some fish for a meal- she fell back. Her spirits had not raised, exactly, but she felt more calm now._

_Rallying, she swam once again to where she believed her friend to be._

_She found the Jolly Roger, water lapping against its enchanted hull, where it was anchored some hundred yards from shore. Above, she could see Captain Jones at the helm. Smiling, she floated alongside the ship on her back, moving her tail occasionally so she didn't drift along. It was a while before he spotted her, raising a hand while a small flash of white signaled his smile._

_She swam closer, watching as he called something to one of his men. Then he removed his belt and stripped of his shirt and vest. She saw him set aside his boots, too. When he was left in only dark, cotten breeches, he dove over the side._

_Ariel liked when he joined her in the water- it was good to know he wasn't above meeting her in her element. It was appreciable today, especially._

_"Afternoon, love...took you a while," he grinned when he resurfaced next to her._

_"I got caught up with dolphins," she told him truthfully._

_"And you held them in esteem over me?" he teased._

_"Well they're nicer to look at," she sparred and, without thought, reached to move aside damp hair that threatened to cover his eyes._

_"Parish the idea... what's wrong?" he asked after studying her a moment._

_He read her well; her melancholy clearly wasn't well enough hidden._

_"A strange day," she shrugged._

_"Do tell," he prompted, treading water._

_"Maybe later..."_

_"Come now...I'd thou-"_

_His sentence died when he disappeared under water. Ariel froze in shock for only a moment before flipping forward to dive after him._

_He was descending away, flailing and feet first. She swam after, quickly gaining distance, and saw white blonde hair trailing through the clear blue water. Fury spurred her on and she caught Killian's arm, pulling against her older sister. Laughter danced through the water and seemed to give her strength in the morbid tug-of-war. Killian's rough hands clung tightly to her- he'd not let go of his life-line. Ariel could tell he was kicking his feet to free himself, and she could feel the moment that her sister relinquished him._

_Swiftly, she propelled them upwards. She grabbed better hold of him under the arms so she could do the work for him faster than he'd have gotten to the top...she hoped he was okay on oxygen..._

_She could see ripples on the surface when she felt a pull on her own tail. Immediately, she gave up her hold on Killian and just prayed he could kick the last yards to the air._

_Hissing, she bared her fingers and twisted to take a swipe at her sister. She missed, just barely, but she was released and she continued to the surface._

_"What the bloody hell!" Killian sputtered, still coughing._

_"Are you alright?" Ariel asked._

_Nails retracting to normal length, she reached for him, meaning to help him back to the ship._

_"I'll be fine...the hell was that about?!"_

_"...my sister..."_

_"Your sist- she has a funny way of saying helo..." he complained, looking down for a glimpse of movement through the water._

_"I don't think 'hello' was the message she had in mind..."_

_Giggles peeled the air._

_"Pearl," Ariel snapped, spotting her sister's light head._

_"I just wanted him to come have some fun- you keep him all to yourself," she teased._

_"I'm sure she's not opposed to sharing if you ask nicely," Killian drawled._

_"Shut up," Ariel muttered._

_"He's presumptuous," Pearl laughed but with little humor. "And I don't think you could handle my fun, pirate...not enough air for you, I think you'll fine..."_

_Scowling, Ariel shifted slightly to be in front of him to be between him and her sister._

_"Look at you- meaning to protect him!" Pearl laughed her high giggle. "You are ever the oddity, aren't you?"_

_Ariel felt the water shift below her and then a gurgle signaled Killian's disappearance- Pearl hadn't come alone. She caught him much more quickly and didn't have to fight for him back. She dragged him up, heaving water._

_He kept a cautious hand on her now, lightly holding her shoulder in case he had to cling on. Ariel could see him beside her, still gazing downward. She, however, had eyes on her sister. After a moment, one of her short-haired little maiden friends surfaced with a smile._

_"Why don't you let him come play?" Pearl pouted._

_Ariel heard Killian's labored breathing next to her while he caught his breath._

_"Only if it's aboard my ship," his pride didn't let him go without his cheek._

_"See? He wants to."_

_"If you want him, you'll have to come get him," Ariel hissed again and lifted a clawed hand._

_"You pick the pirate over me?" Pearl glared._

_"You're picking your piety over me," Ariel accused her._

_Pearl snorted._

_"Then keep him for all I care"_

_And she and her silly friend disappeared._

_"Lovely girl," Killian muttered._

_"...I'm going to make sure they're gone...you should get back onboard," Ariel sighed and twisted underwater._

_She saw the pair growing further away and she circled the area to verify there were no more surprises._

_"You're still in here," Ariel scolded, finding Killian holding loosely to the rope ladder up the side oft the Port side of his ship._

_"Course. What if they attacked you and you needed help?"_

_Ariel wondered what help he'd lend in an underwater fight but didn't say so because she appreciated the intent that he would help._

_"Sorry about them..." she muttered sheepishly._

_"I don't see the family resemblance, I must say," he commented lightly._

_It was a noble shot, but he could tell it wasn't working- she looked desperate._

_"It's not your fault, Ariel," he assured her._

_"She thinks we're better than humans...she finds your kind dull and useless except to fuel her ego- she's quite vain," Ariel explained._

_"...do you find me dull and useless?"_

_"No," Ariel chuckled in spite of herself._

_"Then I care not about her opinion."_

_"Good..."_

_"You never explained them properly, you know. You gave me the impression your family thought I was confusing or maybe annoying, not someone they'd kill," he accused her lightly._

_"She might not have meant to actually kill you..." Ariel supplied meekly._

_"Well, it was an attack all the same"_

_"...they've been growing more impatient about you. I'm sure they thought you were a phase to me..."_

_"And what is it that I am?" he shifted closer._

_"My friend," she answered defensively._

_"And a very grateful friend, I am...was it them you were upset about when you arrived?" he supposed._

_Ariel sighed and lethargically let herself drift a little. Killian paddled along to float at her side._

_"They make me mad"_

_"I can sympathize with that"_

_Ariel hummed her acknowledgement and closed her eyes so she could bask in the sun without being blinded by it._

_"They aren't the only ones. Many of our kind think like Pearl...that humans are all well and good so long as they stay in their place and don't think they know better than us..."_

_"And many humans feel the same about merpeople. As I said- if you don't agree with your family, then I'm not worried," Killian shrugged._

_"...do your crew members think you're stupid to have befriended me?" Ariel checked._

_"Some are leery of merfolk as a whole- the ones from fishing towns"_

_They shared a knowing look, for she'd long ago told him about fishermen accidentally catching merfolk and slaughtering them along with the fish, which earned revenge from their kin. Several years had been full of retaliatory attacks on both sides before merpeople moved to deeper waters away from "the selfish brutes." That was long ago and mostly forgotten, but the string lasted and mistrust crept among many._

_"But they've more or less met you, have seen you're kind... plus, you are important to me, so they'd do nothing even if they thought to," he told her confidently._

_"Well...I don't care if they're wary of me as long as you aren't," she echoed his sentiment and shifted her weight so she was upright in the water again._

_He copied this and treaded water slowly in front of her._

_"So glad we have an agreement," he grinned and closed their small gap to peck her on the lips._

_Areil froze. Wide-eyed, she paddled back a fraction._

_"What?"_

_She looked away and then back...and away again._

_"Ariel, what? -Oi!"_

_He started in surprise when she sunk out of sigh. He saw her twist underwater and dart off._

_"Ay!"_

_For a moment he thought maybe her spiteful sister had returned, but after floating there alone for a few minutes he accepted she'd left. Apparently, to him, for no actual reason..._

* * *

This was just the same, Ariel thought to herself. Assumptions. Judgement. No consideration for the fact that if she cared for him there must be something worth caring about.

She found herself at the small marina without consciously picking the route, but she was not surprised.

She didn't feel like bumbling about to try and get aboard. Maybe he wasn't even there...maybe he was off with _Cora..._ the thought irked her. If he was with her, she'd surely never get the others to believe in him the way she did- they'd never understand. Of course, she'd known him most of her life, so they'd never really get him the same as her...

Rather than try to fumble aboard, she leaned against one of the support poles of the dock that rose above the planks. She thought about calling to Killian, but if Cora was aboard - that fucking witch- then she didn't want to join them. That thought made her want to leave and go straight home...

"You know perfectly well you're welcome to come up on board, mermaid," a voice drawled from above her.

She didn't see him when she looked towards the sound of him, but that tone told him what his face must look like. He was playing, daring her to find it.

"I don't much feel like it, Captain"

For the nature of the following silence, Ariel knew he'd rolled her eyes- she could feel it. Then she heard the thud of his boots as he descended wooden steps.

"Bee in your bonnet, lass?"

"...a giant?!" she scowled without proper greeting and straightened from where she was hunched.

"...I'm going to need more than that to go on, don't you think?" he sighed.

"You got stuck up a beanstalk with a giant?" she expounded.

"Ah, someone's telling tales," he frowned and nodded. "And it wasn't so much 'stuck' as 'got left' up that beanstalk..."

"I heard," Ariel planted her hands fussily on her hips, remembering her anger with Emma.

"You're getting fiery- I like it," he practically purred. "Always have."

"You," she poked his chest to stop him sliding forward at her, "could've told me. A giant- geeze!"

"Indeed... why so worked up? You know I made it out..."

"It was still a blow to hear. And," she poked his chest again but he brushed it aside with his hook. "You didn't mention you knew Emma and Mary-Margaret or that they know you have an alliance with Cora."

"I offered Ms. Swan my allegiance instead, but she chained me to a giant's mansion," he leaned in to hiss. "Anyway, how should I know they were friends of yours?" he added breezily.

"...how could I not know the Sheriff and Snow-freaking-White?" she countered.

"...touche..." he laughed. "You don't sound so friendly towards them just now, however..."

"Probably because I just found out what they did to my best friend!'

"Oh, I'm fond of you, too, love," he chuckled and curled an arm around her neck to start walking her home.

Ariel grew quiet, which drew his attention.

"Something else?"

"Just thinking about them; the way they treated you..."

"Most people don't hear pirate and think of anything good; you know _that...ah,"_ he nodded as comprehension dawned. "Reminding you of your dear sisters?"

"...and Uncles and friends and my father."

"Yes, all those who thought of me as a plaything you should have disposed of long ago."

He chortled at the thought. It genuinely never seemed to bother him what they thought of him. She admired his confidence, though it sometimes bordered on cockiness. It seemed natural of him- inborn, though maybe it was a learned habit of some sort. It worked for him, regardless.

"It's not fair"

"It never is, darling"

"Such a cheerful thought... come up?"

They'd reached her apartment and she'd unlocked the door.

He glanced up the wooden stairs. He'd like to see what kinds of things filled homes in this world. Furthermore, he'd like to know how Arianna and Ariel kept a home- for obvious reasons, he'd never seen her sea home. For such long friends, there were many simple things like this that they did not know about each other...but they knew the deeper, more important things that counted for something.

"'fraid I can't."

Ariel first looked surprised...then resigned.

"Cora"

"Aye"

She remembered the feeling of Emma announcing his affiliation with the witch. His appointment with her now would only affirm their feelings towards him.

"You're here now; why do you still need her? I'll help you."

"We have an agreement...besides, The Dark One - this Mr. Gold- has magic, so Cora is a useful ally."

"Dangerous ally," Ariel corrected. "She-"

"Shh..." he placed three fingers over her lips. "Don't...I'll see you soon."

"Mmhmm...just be careful, Captain," she pleaded once she turned her face away from his hand.

Hook nodded and watched her enter her home before he turned to make a beeline back onto the deck of his ship.

"Aye," he sighed, eyeing Cora and knowing she'd watched the whole exchange.

"...you're quite sure she's not a liability, Hook?"

"Yes," he insisted firmly.

"It won'd do for the town- for my daughter- to know I'm here yet...if she talks-"

"She won't," Hook growled. "She will not...you don't know here as I do."

"Oh...how sweet," she smiled her prim little smile.

Hers was never a smile that showed warmth. He happened to find this one exceptionally foreboding. He did not want her to be interested in Ariel- he shouldn't have made it obvious she meant much to him. Those weren't the kind of things he wanted her to know, lest she manipulate it all.

"...should we get back to work?"

"Indeed."


	5. Sorry for your Friends

Sorry for your Friends_  
"And the tears come streaming down your face, when you lose something you can't replace. When you love someone but it goes to waste, could it be worse?_

_'Fix You,' by Coldplay_  
___

"Good morning, Ruby"

"Hi, Ari! How are you?" the brunette waitress gave her a wide smile.

It was an enthusiastic sounding greeting. Maybe the other woman had expected that she wouldn't want to return right away after the previous night.

"I'm good," Ariel smiled back and sat at the counter. "You?"

"Just tired...there was extra cleaning up to do last night," she rolled her eyes.

"I bet...well, I'll take my usual coffee."

Ruby fetched this and lingered once she brought it back.

"Everything okay after you left last night?"

"Yeah," Ariel sighed and smiled half-heartedly.

"...you're really friends with Captain Hook? Like Peter Pan- The Captain Hook? I have memories of watching the movie when I was young."

"So do I," Ariel laughed at the Arianna watching and reading fairytales. "They got some things wrong, but yes."

"He really is a pirate, though...treasure and all?" Ruby waggled her eyebrows.

"Treasure and all," the redhead laughed. "But he's not as bad as all of that sounds..."

"I know that feeling"

Ariel looked up. She hadn't noticed Belle a couple stools down eating breakfast. True, they were sort of in the same boat there. Belle always seemed sweet, but the smile Ariel gave her was tight- kindred spirit or not, it was hard to consolidate that she was in love with the man who had badly wounded her friends in more ways than one...

"So, pirate..." Ruby continued with a certain...tone. "Sounds rougish and daring. Was it, ya know, romantic?"

Ariel scoffed, though she also blushed.

"No"

"I don't believe you," Ruby sing-songed.

"Believe what you will but we were only ever friends," she laughed.

"But h- oh, was it the tail?" Ruby checked quietly.

"It was just...because. That's what were were."

"Fine," Ruby sighed, sounding like she'd missed out on something fun.

Ariel laughed a little and worked on her coffee before it got cool. While Ruby went to tend to others, she thought of the only time something romantic- "romantic" - had happened. The afternoon he'd placed a kiss on her lips and she had unceremoniously disappeared...

* * *

_She felt silly once she left, but she didn't go right back. Instead, she lingered outside the cove The Jolly Roger was anchored in. She settled into the light sand, disturbing a turtle she hadn't noticed, and replayed what had happened._

_It had meant nothing. Nothing._

_She felt quite clear on that, so why wasn't she relived or comforted?_

_"It's not like that, it's not like that, it's not..." she repeated to herself again and again._

_It was quite some time before she truly calmed down. The water had stilled further and was less clear- the sun was setting by now._

_Sighing, she slowly swam back inland. The Captain was no longer on deck so far as she could see. Resignedly, she dove down to fetch some pebbles from the ocean floor to lob through the small, circular hole that was a window to the Captain's quarters. The first two bounced off the hull and plunked into the water, but the third soared inside to disturb her friend, hopefully...yup._

_His dark head fit itself out the hole to peer at her._

_"I wondered if you'd show. Hold tight..."_

_He disappeared and appeared soon on the deck. He was once again shirtless and he climbed onto the rail to jump feet-first into the sea._

_"You're a very strange girl today," he commented, surfacing a few feet away._

_"I know...sorry"_

_"S'alright, you know I like a good mystery," he drawled, yet he looked questioning._

_Ariel swam backwards towards some rocks jutting into the bay, but not so quickly that Killian couldn't keep up with an even stroke. She pulled herself up to lounge on her back and Killian climbed up to sit next to her. They were quiet a while, watching the sun's descent._

_"...do you think I'm pretty?" she finally asked._

_Killian started, not having expected this. He looked over at her. Dark teal scales covered a long tail, which rounded-out about where hips ought to be and then faded smoothly to skin that was very lightly tanned. Her stomach was lean, her skin smooth, leading to breasts bound securely- today by a length of deep blue material wrapped tightly a few times around them. Lean arms met her shoulders and some freckles began to dot her collar and neck. They dusted the sun-kissed skin of her cheeks, too, right under bright green eyes. Her hair was long and fiery...he liked to think it spoke to her adventurous side._

_He knew they were around the same age ...she, perhaps, a bit older, but she did look younger than him because of early years spent in the waters of Neverland. She was still growing out of the face of a teenager. Still, that was not so young- certainly not young enough that he felt at odds with answering._

_"Yes," he nodded. "Why, do you think me blind?"_

_She ignored his teasing and mulled over his answer._

_"...do you think I'm smart, too?"_

_He didn't have to think about that one at all._

_"Of course- would I take you seriously if I thought you a dunce?"_

_"Hmmm..."_

_"Who's made you doubt either trait? Shall I duel them?" he nudged her._

_"No," she laughed._

_"...Ariel, why are you asking these questions?" Killian pestered her._

_"...because you kissed me..."_

_Killian chortled at this answer._

_"Why? Was it not enjoyable?"_

_It wasn't even a proper kiss; he didn't see why she was so fussy over it._

_"It was fine," Ariel willed her skin not to grow pink. "It's just... that's what you do..."_

_"And what does that mean?" he laughed loudly._

_He supposed he knew, for she wasn't unaware that he liked and enjoyed women when they docked._

_"...you flirt and you're suggestive and...you wink at people and kiss them...you charm them to get what you want..."_

_"Pirate," he smirked. "What's wrong with it?"_

_"Nothing," she answered quickly. "It's part of who you are, and it's a certain kind of charming..."_

_This was true. His drawling and flirting and his epithets were just his personality, and it was fun._

_"...it's also what my family thinks you do to me. They think I'm just too stupid to see past it...when you kiss me, it just scared me for a second..."_

_"What?"_

_"For a second I thought you, ya know...were just charming me...trying to pacify me or something."_

_"You're not just some girl," he told her._

_"Yeah..."_

_Again, she considered his behaviors...flirting, purring, winking... ..._

_"Hey, I trust you. I don't use you..."_

_"I know," she nodded. "I know- I panicked, I think..."_

_"Good because you know me. **You.** Know. Me," he insisted. "If I touch you, drop you a kiss...it's affection- genuine affection. It's different because you're my friend..." he struggled to explain because, to him, it wasn't a confused issue. _

_"I know," Ariel smiled sheepishly._

_"Buuut...I could avoid kissing you on the lips if that helps you keep the line from blurring," he offered, feeling somewhat strange about it...almost like he'd lost something._

_"Maybe, yeah"_

_"Shall I stick to the cheek then?" he pushed away everything else and smiled before doing just that, nuzzling closer to peck her cheek._

_She laughed, craning her neck, and it did feel...friendly. Almost funny._

_Grinning, she grabbed his left hand and picked it up to kiss the back of it._

_"Humans do that, right? It's nice?"_

_"Yes," he bit a laugh. "Ah...it's typically that men do so to women."_

_"So I should stop?" she checked._

_"No, I quite like it," he decided._

_She kissed his hand again before dropping it._

_"Sorry I am strange..."_

_"Aren't we all?" he shrugged._

_They relaxed for the sunset and never directly spoke of any of that again, which was unf-_

* * *

"Sorry, Arianna," Ruby gasped, knocking over the woman's coffee when she jolted.

This successfully pulled the redhead from her revere, but Ruby dashed out of the diner before she could say anything. Confused, Ariel started wiping up the mess herself and she watched out the window as Ruby met Emma and Henry on the sidewalk. Pongo was there, though Archie wasn't, and soon everyone was scurrying off.

"Everyone's a little crazy..." she muttered.

Belle laughed but Ariel couldn't wholeheartedly join her. She'd like to...but she couldn't.

Instead, she piled up the soiled napkins, set down some money, and strolled out. She'd head to work a little early for her desk-shift at the rec center before lifeguard duty.

She heard a shout from across the street and she slowed- she couldn't decide if it was a shout for help.

Cautiously, she crossed the street. No one else was close by- it was a little early- so she literally jumped when Ruby burst through the door.

"Whoa, watch ou-"

"Do you have you cell?"

"Yes, wh-"

"Call an ambulance!"

Ariel's eyes popped, but she began to dig into her jacket pocket.

"What? Why..."

She followed Ruby back inside as her fingers pushed buttons. The phone was at her ear when she registered they were entering the office of Dr. Hopper, which meant...which meant...

The dispatcher was speaking, but she only stared at Archie on the ground. Unmoving. Certinly he wasn't...he couldn't be...be...

Emma straightened up and strode over to take the phone from her nimbly.

"Hello...yes, we need an ambulance at Dr. Hooper's office- this is Sheriff Swan... I don't know what happened, but he's not breathing and he's cold..."

"He's," Ariel began to echo. "Ruby..."

"I know," Ruby whispered and curled a long arm around her shoulders.

They stood together as paramedics arrived. T hey did not rush him out; they pronounced him...

"I need to go," Ariel whispered, wiping wetness from her cheeks.

"You're right, we shouldn't stay here...we'll go to the diner. I'm sure others have heard..."

"No, I want to go. I need to go..."

"Sweetie, no- you shouldn't be alone. Come on..."

Ruby steered her across the street. Her eyes were red-rimmed, but she was holding it together better than Ariel, whose cheeks were streaked with fresh tears. Once they entered the diner and Ruby was greeted by her grandmother, however, she hugged the woman and began to sob.

Ariel sank into a booth. She knew where she wanted to go but couldn't move her legs.

Archie, who was so sweet, who wouldn't hurt anyone. Archie, who was generous and intuitive...

She remembered sessions she'd had with him as Arianna- he'd been so kind. As Ariel she only knew him as a friend, and a good friend at that; they had discussed her past sessions but not clinically...

"How can he be dead?"

Leroy sat across from her, but he didn't say anything. She didn't need him to say anything. He was Leroy; his presence was quite comforting in itself. He didn't need to cry with her- it felt right to see him stoic and steady...

People were congregating at the diner, naturally, once they heard what had happened. Many cried, some were beyond tears.

"I need to go," she finally said again and stood.

"Go? Should I...uh, should I walk you somewhere?" Leroy stood, too.

"Oh, it's okay," she released a shaky breath. "I need a few minutes...this is a lot in here."

Leroy seemed to understand that feeling and said nothing more. She slipped out of her booth without interference and headed out- hardly anyone was out and about, either because they knew Archie and were off grieving or because they were behind closed doors whispering about murder in Storybrooke.

She stomped down the dock with a feeling of deja vu from the night before. She wished she could not be upset with him now that they'd reunited...

"Captain!" she shouted.

She found that she wished he lived in a house so she could pound on a door violently, for that seemed like something that would make her feel better.

"Captain!"

"Stop being stubborn," his drawl came from what she supposed was the far side of the ship. "Come aboard, won't you?" was his lazy invitation, accompanied by the taps of his boots.

"Capt-" she choked. "Killian."

She was crying again, though she'd won the fight to stay stoic for the walk over. Ariel had seen him use the stairs, so she tried to find them, stumbling in the process. But Hook had jumped from the boat and grabbed her arms before she needed to catch herself. He pulled her up and backed her off of the stairs.

"What? What's happened?" he demanded, holding her at arm's length to look her over for injury...

"No, no, stop," she stepped backwards, leaving him flabbergasted. "Where did you go last night when you took me home?"

"What?"

"What did you...do...last...night?"

"Nothing- I did a bit of spying and came back here...what? What happened to you last night?"

"Not me," Ariel sniffed. "Someone was killed last night- a friend of mine..."

"And your first reaction was to come here? ...to accuse me?" he relaxed.

"You got here this week with plans and a witch, and now someone's dead. What should I think?" her lip trembled.

"I didn't kill anyone"

Ariel took hold of his chin, holding him still so she could stare hard at him.

"I didn't kill your friend...the only person I intend to kill is Rumplestiltskin, and I haven't done so yet... ...regrettably."

Slowly, Ariel nodded and released him. Her breath was shaking as she tried not to cry, but tears fell anyway. Killian sighed in a way that indicated discomfort but determination- he wasn't going to complain.

"Come now," he whispered.

He took her hand in his good one and tugged her against him. Her head lay against his chest and she slid her arms around him. She shook but ultimately tried to be quiet about it other than ragged breathing and some sniffling. Killian was thankful for this- crying was one thing he didn't have tons of experience with. If the men he worked with cried they surely kept it to themselves, and Milah, in their whirlwind two years together, had been too elated to be weepy...his mother had cried sometimes, but he wasn't clear how his father had calmed her. Any other woman who cried tended to be someone he could easily ignore. Ariel herself had strong emotions but handled them herself, usually...sometimes it meant escaping for quiet contemplation, but he respected that.

Now...he wasn't sure what she probably wanted. He rubbed her back with the curve of his hook and held her close with the other arm.

She leaned away and wiped her face dry before taking a deep, intentional breath.

"What about Cora?"

"I don't know," he admitted, removing his hand from her side to replace on his own hip.

"You don't know..."

"I only saw her a few minutes last night. I don't know what she did. I assume it was something to do with keeping an eye on Regina," he recounted.

"Would she do it? I mean, what's her plan? Could this be part of it?"

"She didn't say anything about a murder" - he saw Ariel flinch at the word- "but she's not exactly a lass who's up for a lot of sharing," he told her honestly.

"So maybe it was her- of course it was..."

"Ah, we don't know that..."

"Killian," Ariel shook her head.

"You could be right, but is there anyone else here who could've done it?"

Ariel thought of the past month since the curse had broken. King George had killed someone he didn't know to try to frame Ruby. There was, of course, Regina, who was already suspected and hunted by Emma and co. And, to be honest, there could be plenty of as-yet unidentified people in Storybrooke...

"Maybe, but the timing..."

Given what she knew, Ariel was party to different assumptions than the rest of the town.

"If it was Cora, I know nothing of it," he promised explicitly.

"Okay..."

"...I'm sorry about your friend," he added.

"Thanks. I'm sorry I thought it was you," she gave her own apology.

"Hazard of being a pirate," he brushed it off.

Now he looked around he realized that he probably ought not to be in the open.

"Come on up," he took her hand and turned for the stairs.

"No...no, I can't stay still- I need to walk or something..."

Killian didn't want her to go of on her own just now, nor did he want to stroll the pleasant roads of Storybrooke out in the open.

"Come on, we can go through the woods..."

They traversed the uneven forest floor to walk along the riverbank. It wasn't the ocean waters where most of their friendship had taken place, but it had some nostalgic glimmer of familiarity. They said nothing for a long time. The ability to be comfortable together even while being quiet was comfortably familiar, too.

"So, you don't want to tell me about this friend of yours?" Killian finally asked.

"Archie," Ariel named him. "Archie Hopper...he was," she sighed heavily, "he was probably the kindest person in the town."

"...pretty bold message to send," Killian muttered.

"Come again?"

"Kill the most innocent and everyone else will certainly be fearful..."

"A tactic you've used?" Ariel rose an eyebrow.

"A mentality I'm familiar with," he hedged. "If you want people to fear you- obey you- they have to believe you'll hurt them," he shrugged.

Ariel grumbled under her breath, but it wasn't as though she hadn't always known what he did. There was no point in acting surprised over how he'd become an infamous name.

"It's...just hard to believe," she told him. "Like, I think I'll still see him everyday..."

"It gets easier."

Ariel supposed that was true- it had to be.

"We should head back," she announced, since it was beginning to get darker.

"Stay on my ship so you don't have to sit at home alone," Killian invited along the way.

"That's alright. Ruby was talking about a memorial tonight- a vigil. I should wash up at home and then go..."

"Alright"

It felt strange to Killian that he could not go with her and make sure she was alright- after such a long friendship, it was inherent to want to protect her. Then again, they had always had a friendship that predicated one couldn't go everywhere the other could. In fact, perhaps that was why she had yet to help herself onto his ship...maybe it didn't feel natural.

They were very good friends, but they were still two people from different worlds...

"I really am sorry, for assuming the worst"

He only shrugged and grinned. True, it did not flatter him coming from her, but nor was he grossly offended.

They parted ways near the harbor. Ariel washed up and changed before heading back into town for the hastily, but lovingly, prepared vigil. Everyone was somber, talking about good memories of both Archie Hopper and Jimminy Cricket.

A semi-excited rumor ran an undercurrent throughout the proceedings. Emma and her parnets had discovered definitive proof Regina had killed Archie, though they hadn't apprehended her. Ariel took comfort in this certainty, but it did not escape her that Cora could still have been party to it.

She stayed with Ruby above Granny's for the night, although it was likely that neither of them slept too well. Giapetto came to the diner the next morning and they helped him arrange and get ready for the funeral. It was painful work, but it felt good to do something and stay busy. Ariel didn't return to her apartment until that night. As Killian had predicted, she didn't relish the idea of being alone. But it did have to happen eventually, so she sucked it up and went home to turn in.

She jumped and almost fell down the first stair she ascended, but she quickly realized it was Killian seated about half way up the stairs to her apartment.

"Evening"

"Hi"

"I was going to wait inside but thought I'd scare you less out here..."

"Probably true.

He rose when she reached him and followed her up to the landing. Ariel was perfectly unsurprised he could pick a lock, but she enjoyed the fact that he didn't go ahead and invade her home.

"How are you, love?"

"...staying busy," Ariel shrugged. "I think I just feel...numb."

"Could be worse," Killian mused.

He saw several strange things as he surveyed her home. He didn't exclaim or let any fraction of confusion show. After traveling various lands- some very exotic indeed- he knew how to blend in and make himself at home...one could simply figure out details as one went along.

"I'm just tired...the funeral's tomorrow"

He gave a sympathetic grimace.

"Shall I stay with you tonight?"

Ariel blinked quickly, for this was quite forward. But the prospect immediately comforted her, as he must have known it would.

"Yes please"

Many comments sprung to mind concerning her acquiescence to him in her bed. This wasn't a good time, however, and for her he could manage to desist.

He followed her down a short hall to a room that felt immediately comfortable...cozy. Quietly, she dug through a dresser for some clothes and scurried to the bathroom to change. Once again adept at making himself to home, he stripped half of his clothes off and shimmied under the covers shirtless. T he sheets were soft...yes, beds here were agreeable.

Ariel arrived in thin yellow pants and a small white top. She seemed not to want to talk, but he understood grief having that effect, so he didn't question her turning the lights out and getting into bed without a word.

She lay on her back a while starting at the ceiling; he watched her in the dim light from the street outside. Still not speaking, she grabbed his hand in her own and laced their fingers. Seeming to accept that the white ceiling had no answers for her, she rolled onto her side. Killian shifted with her, scooting behind her to wrap himself around her to offer an anchor in her sadness. She'd once done the same for him, so he did not hesitate now. He didn't know this Archie, but he did know his sea girl and he knew she appreciated it even without her verbalizing it.


End file.
